Innumerable attempts have been made in the past to develop the ideal gravity feed pet feeder. The basic structural components of this type of a device comprise: a food reservoir; a narrow delivery chute, that will restrict the flow of the food from the reservoir; and, a feeding trough or tray that will function as a receptacle for the particular food.
As mentioned supra the prior art is replete with structures that were designed to perform the aforementioned function. Examples of some of the prior art constructions may be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,303,039; 3,372,676; 3,763,826; 3,229,665; and 4,281,624.
As can be seen by reference to the above cited patents, the prior art constructions range from the very simple versions with no moving parts, to the very complex mechanized versions. While all of the prior art constructions are adequate for their intended purpose and function, the simpler versions have proven to be more commercially successful based on their simplicity.
It should be noted however, that even the simply constructed prior art structures are deficient: with regard to protecting the delivered food particles from the elements; as well as failing to take into consideration that, certain individual animals, of both the domestic and wild varieties, are very reluctant to take food from a location where their natural line of vision is substantially obstruted.